Grillo, Berlusconi gear up for assault on Renzi

But improving markets give premier reasons for optimism

(ANSA) - Rome, April 2 - While Premier Matteo Renzi was in
Brussels Wednesday ahead of volatile European Parliament
elections next month, opposition leaders at home were gearing up
for an attack on his center-left majority.
"It's easy for people to vote for Renzi. If you are not
intelligent, honest and democratic, vote for him," said comic
Beppe Grillo.

The leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S)
was launching a campaign tour ahead of May 25's EP elections in
which Euroskeptic parties such as his are expected to do well.
The first stop was in the southern city of Catania
Wednesday, one day after he published a list of the party's
first 20 candidates on his popular blog.
Second only to Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) in terms of
popular support, the M5S is a force to be reckoned with.
Meanwhile, the opposition Forza Italia party of three-time
premier Silvio Berlusconi was moving chess pieces of its own.

On Wednesday it rolled out its logo for May's European
elections featuring the name "Berlusconi", even though the
ex-premier will not be able to stand as a candidate.
The 77-year-old billionaire is ineligible as he was banned
from public office after the Supreme Court upheld a tax-fraud
sentence against him last year, his first definitive conviction
in two decades of legal battles.
The media magnate, who was also ejected from parliament
following the conviction, said the ruling was part of a campaign
by left-wing elements in the judiciary who want to sweep him out
of Italy's public life.
But the Berlusconi trademark remains strong, at least among
the party faithful.
FI presented the Berlusconi logo along with its slogan for
the May 25 EP election: "Più Italia in Europa. Meno Europa in
Italia" (More Italy in Europe. Less Europe in Italy).
The media magnate has been highly critical of austerity the
European Union imposed on countries as its main response to the
eurozone debt crisis.
But Grillo is not to be outdone.
On Wednesday he upped his call for Italy to have a
referendum on whether the country should continue to have the
euro as its currency and stay in the European Union.

Writing on his blog, the comic-turned-politician said
Italians must be given the final word on whether the euro is
still "feasible and legitimate".
"Italy lost its monetary sovereignty without consulting its
citizens," he added.
But after a day of EU summits in the European capital,
Renzi appeared to have reasons for optimism.
As the markets closed, the 39-year-old premier reveled in
the spread narrowing "to its lowest point since 2011,"
signalling improved investor faith in Italy.
The spread between the Italian BTP State bond and its
ultra-safe German equivalent was below the 170-basis-points
mark, 169, for the first time since the start of June 2011.